The governor’s moves
drew criticism from the chairman of the Los AngelesCounty chapter of the California Republican Lawyers
Association, Adam Abrahms of Proskauer Rose, over the fact that all but three
of the 14 appointees are Democrats, including six of those joining the Los
Angeles Superior Court.

Republican Criticism

Abrahms, who was
involved in a 2006 effort to push Schwarzenegger to appoint more GOP members to
judgeships, said it was “completely unprecedented” for the governor to have
made so many opposing party appointments during his time in office. He accused
the governor of “political horse trading” and abandoning his principles “to
curry favor with his friends in Sacramento.”

A spokesperson for the
governor disputed Abrahms’ assertions, emphasizing that “the governor appoints
who he feels is most qualified to serve on the bench,” and noting that over
half of Schwarzenegger’s judicial appointments have been Republicans.

She said Schwarzenegger
has now appointed 401 judges to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and superior
courts, with 51 percent identifying themselves as Republicans, 40 percent as
Democrats, and nine percent declining to state a party affiliation.

Abrahms did not offer
specific criticism of the appointees to the Los Angeles Superior Court,
explaining that he was “sure they are good lawyers: LA is full of good
lawyers.” He added, however, that the selections “unfortunately don’t show
commitment to the principles the governor was elected on, to value victims over
criminals.”

Glen Forsch, chair of
the Los Angeles County Republican Party, declined comment, saying he was not
familiar with the appointees individually, while Los Angeles County Supervisor
Michael D. Antonovich, a Republican, said only that he “would like to see a
balance in appointments.”

Former Commissioners

Greenberg, 48, became a
commissioner in 2000 after spending five years as the Children’s Services
Inspector General for Los
AngelesCounty. He graduated from UC
Berkley and UC Hastings College of the Law before admission to the State Bar in
1986, and he represented the Los Angeles County Department of Children and
Family Services for the following nine years.

A Democrat, Greenberg
fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Michael R. Hoff.

Nelson, 52, became a
commissioner in 2004 after seven years as an associate, then partner, with
Morrison & Foerster, and six years as an associate at Overton, Lyman &
Prince. A graduate of OccidentalCollege and the USC School of
Law, she is a Democrat and fills the vacancy created by the death of Judge
Deanne Smith Myers.

Yriarte, 39, has served
in her current position since 1997, when she was admitted to the State Bar
after having graduated from the CaliforniaStatePolytechnicUniversity, Pomona and LoyolaLawSchool. The only Republican appointed yesterday to the
Los Angeles Superior Court, she
fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Alexander H. Williams.

Terrell, 51, has served
as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central
District of California since 1991, and attended YaleUniversity and StanfordLawSchool.

Admitted to the State
Bar in 1984, he was an associate with Reich, Adell & Crost from 1983 to
1985, and with Rosen, Wachtell & Gilbert for the following six years.
Terrell is a Democrat, and he fills the position created by the retirement of
Judge Ray Hart.

Cotton, 52, is a
shareholder with Cozen O’Connor, and comes to the bench after 21 years with the
firm, first as an associate and then partner before becoming a shareholder in
2001.

He attended college at AmherstCollege and law school at TempleUniversity before being admitted
to practice law in Pennsylvania in 1982, and served as
a staff attorney for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights before becoming senior
trial attorney for the Defenders Association of Philadelphia the following
year.

Admitted to the State
Bar of California in 1988, Cotton is a Democrat, and he fills the vacancy
created by the retirement of Judge David Horwitz.

Cunningham, 53, has
served as a principal at Meyers Nave Riback Silver & Wilson since 2007, and
for two years before that as a partner at Kelly Lytton & Vann.

He was admitted to the
State Bar in 1983 after attending college at USC and law school at New YorkUniversity, and he began his
career as a judicial clerk for U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. of the
Central District of California.

Cunningham joined the Beverly Hills office of Finley Kumble
in 1984 as an associate, and five years later became a sole practitioner before
joining Jackson and Lewis as of counsel in 2005. A Democrat, he fills the
vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Xenophon F. Lang.

Halm, 66, has worked as
an equity partner for Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker since
2000, and graduated from USC and the University of San Diego School of Law
before admission to the State Bar in 1969.

He served the first six
years of his career as a deputy attorney general for the California Department
of Justice, and in 1975 joined Breidenbach, Buckley, Huchting, Halm & Hamblet,
rising from associate to partner and then shareholder in his 25 years with the
firm. A Democrat, Halm fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge
Leon S. Kaplan.

•San Diego attorney
Ronald F. Frazier and San Diego Superior Court Commissioner Tamila E. Ipema—who
served as a commissioner on the Los Angeles Superior Court until April of last
year—to the San Diego Superior Court. Both Frazier and Ipema are Democrats;